refurbished D500 shutter or aperture issues

MrFotoFool

I got a D500 from Nikon USA refurbished site less than two weeks ago. Two days ago it started acting up. (Unfortunately NR does not allow direct uploads so I can show the photos). On one evening's shoot about a dozen photos in the middle of the sequence had a black bar intruding into the photo. It was the shape of a wide blade of grass, with the end slighly wider than the base (the end stopped just past middle of frame but the base extended beyond the edge of the frame). In some cases it was tack sharp and in some a bit blurry. When I saw this after uploading the photos on my computer I turned on the camera to do test shots. First one had the bottom third of the photo black and rest normal (like when you use too fast of a shutter speed with a flash, except of course I was not using a flash on this or any previous photo). Second shot the black covered just over half the bottom. Third photo the black covered almost the entire frame, with just a sliver (maybe 1/16th) of the photo showing on the top. I turned off the camera and reattached lens and it seemed to work fine. So I went back out next night and did some test shots in the field and at first fine but after a while the same thing where most of image was black and only a sliver at top showed.

I came home, turned camera on again, and have taken several shots inside and so far not been able to replicate the problem. I am just curious if anyone has had similar issues with D500 and if you know if this is a shutter malfunction (which I assume) or a lens malfunction. I have been using the same lens for months on my D850 with no issue.

MrFotoFool

If it makes a difference the lens setup is Nikkor 500 f5.6PF and Nikkor TC14Eiii teleconverter.

retread

I have had a D500 since they were introduced. I have had no such trouble. If it were only a part of the photo I wonder if the mirror is out of the light path. That may not explain a bar in the middle though. Maybe they are both out of whack. I don't think it is the lens but another may be worth a try.

MrFotoFool

Thanks for commenting. Unfortunately it is now Saturday and Nikon is closed for the weekend (and so is my local camera repair shop). I am inclined to call Nikon Monday and just ask for a return authorization (for sales under one thousand you can do this online but for over one thousand you have to call). I found a local Best Buy that has a new one in stock.

tc88

A possibility is that your memory card is corrupted. Try a different one, maybe also format in camera.

MrFotoFool

I format my memory card before every shoot.

Pistnbroke

You can post a picture you just have to have it stored elsewhere so you can post a URL. If its refurb worth checking the shutter count and I am of the opinion that nikon just test returned cameras and if no fault found then off it goes as a refurb.

NSXTypeR

I guess you could upload the photo to Google Photos and then share it here as a link.

MrFotoFool

I have just returned from Tucson Camera Repair and they discovered the culprit. The "curved blade of grass" that appeared in the pictures was a broken off piece of plastic from a cheap lens. It eventually lodged in blocking the mirror from going all the way up, which is why subsequent photos were mostly black (the mirror was still covering most of the sensor).

The good news is it was an easy fix for him to extract the plastic piece. The bad news is it came to me that way from Nikon USA because all of my lenses and teleconverters are pro level with metal mounts (camera repair even had me list off my lenses to confirm). He said it's from a cheap kit lens. Though I am happy with solution I am somewhat disgusted with Nikon refurbished department that they would not find this when they are checking the camera. The plastic piece is quite large (about an inch long) so obviously they do not do as thorough of an inspection as I thought. If I ever need a new body (which I shouldn't for a long time) I will no longer buy refurbished and only buy new.

retread

I am glad nothing was damaged by the stray piece of phasic.

spraynpray

Looks like @Pistnbroke was right about returns being resold after a cursory inspection.

Pistnbroke

Check the shutter count to see how long it was before the moron damaged his lens. Probably dropped the camera and the plastic mount broke.
www.myshuttercount.com small basic jpeg best

tc88

That's pretty damning on Nikon. But think it over, I'm not surprised. Such occurrence is pretty low and it's probably more cost effective to let the customer finds out and repair afterwards. Besides if they want to refurb those to good quality, they need to do a lot of work since many of those while maybe within the absolute tolerance, probably are borderline defective.

Pistnbroke said:

Check the shutter count to see how long it was before the moron damaged his lens. Probably dropped the camera and the plastic mount broke.
www.myshuttercount.com small basic jpeg best

That's why I don't buy refurb unless it's for backup only. I don't want some goods that some others have had issue with.

MrFotoFool

Tucson Camera Repair did look at the shutter count and it was extremely low. I forget the exact number but it was just over 600 and I am sure most of those were mine.

tc88

If Nikon didn't reset the counter, then somebody who bought it new just dropped it. Since it's still within the return period, they just returned it.

Pistnbroke

It is very unusual or virtually a zero occurrence that nikon reset the shutter ..they dont even do it when you have a new shutter fitted

MrFotoFool

Well the saga continues. I had left it yesterday at Tucson Camera Repair to have the sensor cleaned. When I picked it up today he advised me to return it because the plastic piece had caused some damage to the shutter and left a mark on the sensor. The invoice I got from Nikon says orders under one thousand dollars can use an online form to return but over one thousand need to call them. So I called just now for a return authorization and the rep on the phone says he has initiated the process but it will take a day for me to get return authorization due to it being over one thousand dollars. At this point I am pretty disgusted with Nikon and I would warn everyone to never buy from their refurbished department. My local Best Buy got one in stock so I just ordered it from them for curbside pickup (their current practice due to Covid-19). The downside is now I have that extra amount on my credit card until Nikon issues the refund.

PB_PM

When I first repaired something with Nikon service I was very impressed, but that was over 10 years ago. Then 8 years ago they started closing repair centres, reducing staff and such. Quality of the repairs got worse, and took longer. Then I noticed a sharp decline in the quality of new products as well within the last five years. Given that, what happened to you doesn’t surprise me in the least. I for one will not be buying any new or refurbished Nikon products any time soon, not worth the risk.